Escape?! (1)
It's 6:55. Like always, I log into Discord to survive another day in the zombie world. And wouldn't you know it, I'm dead last again. Everyone's already gathered in the voice chat. Why is everybody so dedicated?
"Hello, everyone!"
I belt out a big greeting the second I join. Gotta come thirty minutes early tomorrow to avoid being last.
"Hey, boss!"
"Zang-hyung's here?"
"Hi~"
Thank goodness they all greet me back warmly. Honestly, when we're all here, we can just dive right in. Small talk can happen in-game.
"Shall we get started? Lemme check if the server's up!"
I cover my screen for a sec to message my editor...
"Server's up. We can just hop in! See you there!"
"Yep~ Got it."
"See ya."
We jump straight into the link without another word.
Anyway, quick recap from yesterday: I became the boss. What's gonna happen today? My heart's pounding with excitement. I'm sick of hunting—hoping for some dramatic event. If Moteok gets chomped again... wonder if it'll make for pretty footage...? Probably not much different from yesterday.
"Zang Boss, you here?"
Ah, loading's done already. Moteok, who got here first, is waiting.
"Hey. Hi?"
"Yep! What're we doing today?"
"Today... hmm... anything?"
"Oh! I had an idea. Can I share?"
"Tell us once everyone's here. We'll talk then."
Yesterday was fun. My concept's all over the place. How did I even talk to Moteok yesterday? Pretty sure I was casual with her... suddenly it feels off. For the stream, for Moteok... to not ruin a good thing, I steel myself. Casual talk's fine. It's a stream, after all. Yeah, a stream. Snap out of it. Focus.
"Wait...!"
"Yep!"
"I'm in."
"So what're we doing today...? Probably that thing. Y'know, that."
They pile in fast, making my "wait" pointless.
"Everyone, assemble!! Moteok... whatever your rank is? Anyway, got something to say!! Let's hear her out. Assemble quick!!"
I try to boss it up as leader, but my authority's slipping a bit. What was Moteok's rank again? Drawing a blank.
"Second Lieutenant. Didn't I get commissioned yesterday?"
"Ah... right, Second Lieutenant."
Don't remember, but I play along.
"Moteok Second Lieutenant's got a good plan... Let's head to the command center."
"Command center? You built that?"
Raming breaks character to ask, and I snicker at her reaction.
"Yeah. Come see. I'll show you how hard I worked yesterday... and how much abuse I took."
I really got flamed. "Can't you do one thing right?" Group beatdown level. But I gritted my teeth through it—that's the command center. A facility to control and manage the squad. Though not quite what I envisioned. Y'know in dramas or movies, where the general with the baton smacks the board: "Here, then there..." That vibe. I demolished all the first-floor walls, plopped a ops table in the middle (planning to swap boxes for a pool table eventually).
"Whoa, when'd you set this up?"
"Boss did this?"
"Yup, all me. While you three were on missions yesterday, I hammered, chopped, glued wood like crazy. Gonna replace the boxes with a pool table. Whaddya think? Cool, right?"
"Looks good."
"Pool table memo. Love it. Gotta snag one~"
Raming and Maru feed my validation cravings perfectly.
"Everyone grab a spot. Got 'em? Okay then."
We crowd around the boxes.
"Moteok Second Lieutenant, commence briefing."
"Ah... yep! Everyone got the map? This is the relay map—we gotta install all of 'em for the rescue chopper. So today, hardcore farming, then breach the demon dens starting tomorrow."
"Demon dens are tough, right? Even fully geared, at our level, we might not clear 'em."
"We have to. Raming Recruit. All relays are in the demon dens."
"Got it. I know."
Relays are the escape key. Install 'em all, hit a spot, and the escape story kicks off. Survive 180 minutes of zombie waves, chopper comes, story ends. Super hard—'cause relays are in demon dens, zombie-infested hellholes, the pick of the litter. Yeah, it's brutal. Four-day collab, mostly noobs... escape? Forget it, we might not even reach the dens. Farm hard today... still gotta smash all dens tomorrow... this ain't the direction I wanted. I just wanted cozy base life, laughing together. Escape meta's messing me up.
"So today, raid every military base, stockpile ammo hard. Time left, hit an easy demon den too."
"Where we starting?"
"Nearest base for guns first, sounds right."
"Hmm... no cars though. Ours are totaled? Gotta fix that too. Repairs take time?"
"Still gotta go."
Moteok stands firm against Maru's words. She's one with the water now, full immersion. If her char dies, she'll think she died. For sure.
"I played Zomboid ages ago, memories fuzzy... got nothing to say. What now?"
"No way we can? Demon dens solo squad? Way too hard."
"We can. Just shoot straight."
"But you suck at shooting. Sis..."
"Second Lieutenant Moteok. No casual talk, people. This is the army."
Charisma what?! Locking down the ranks like that? Works for me! I'm the boss...! Ehehe. Good job. Keep it up.
I cheer Moteok on inwardly.
"Got it...!"
"Yessir!"
They're snapping to now. Discipline's tight. Nice one...! Second Lieutenant Moteok! Perfectly played me like a fiddle. I love it!!
"That's my take. Choice is yours, Zang Boss."
"Huh? Me...?"
"Company decisions are the boss's. Common sense."
Suddenly? Why me? I suck at this. Disaster incoming? Lightning bolt to the head.
"Uh... uh... okay then..."
Brain freeze. Never saw the hot potato coming my way. I'd rather not. Safety first. Do we need to escape? Let's just cozy up. We're happy now. Happy, right? Escaping won't fix anything. This might be peak happiness. Escape means money, job, back to society grind. Better stay here.
"We stay here?"
"What?!!!!"
Moteok freaks.
"No, Boss! We gotta escape. I'm escaping to be the world's best chef. No dreams, Boss?"
"Dreams..."
Dreams? She's roleplaying hard. Gotta play along. Scenario 1: If I'm supposed to engage, but say "I got no dreams," what then? Zilch to say. Kills the RP. Scenario 2: "I wanna be [something]." Safe, but can't be cringey. No "president" or "coup leader." Fit the vibe. Hmm...
Sena... what's your dream? Honestly, none. Just wanna live well. That's it. Sigh... dunno. I go blank-faced, brain-off honest.
"VTuber maybe?"
"Pfft... huh? Didn't hear. What's that?"
"VTuber? Heard they rake in 100 mil won a month. No showers needed, face hidden, great privacy..."
"Stop! Red pill alert!!!"
Moteok yells, Raming and Maru crack up. What'd I say wrong? Facts. That's what I heard...?
"100 mil a month? Dream come true."
"Raming, ain't that you?"
I'm baffled by Raming. She has to be 100 mil level. Top corp mid-tier. Tons of subs, ads, merch.
"Ridiculous... who said?"
"My brain canon."
"Impossible for me... someone might."
"Ah~ Maru?"
I eye Maru. She panics.
"What nonsense... no way. Who?"
"Me. Sena canon."
"Brain canon? Absolutely not. 100 mil revenue? Taxes eat half. Impossible."
"Yeah, guess so."
I scratch my head. No malice... but they're all denying.
"So how much you make, Sena?"
"Me...? Dones? YouTube's nada, views suck... but dones are decent. Lemme check... I'll show ya."
"No no no no no."
"Wah?"
Can't tell friends? If curious, sure! We're buds! Why not?
"No. Nope. Done. Never reveal. Never."
"Uh... okay."
"Just hit the base. Farm first. Prep to move. Enough talk—farm time. We escape! Let's go go go!"
Raming flips a switch, pushing hard for farming out of nowhere.
"Uh... yeah. Sure."
I nod helplessly.